Russia Extends Ban on Imports of Agricultural Products to 2016

GLOBAL - The Russian Government has announced that it will be extending the ban on agricultural products from the EU until 5 August 2016.

The list of banned products is thought to remain the same, including beef, pork, meat by-products, fish and shellfish, milk and dairy products, vegetables, sausages and so on.

Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, stated: "We took these decisions a year ago and are extending them in response to recent decisions of the European Union and a number of other states. We didn’t start this sanctions standoff, and mutual efforts are needed to put an end to it. Unfortunately, we have not seen any positive changes from these states so far. But our actions here are based primarily on economic rather than political considerations."

The Prime Minister noted that farmers had requested that the government keep the embargo for as long as possible.

Mr Medvedev continued to say that the list of banned products is not permanent and can be changed for a number of reasons, including progress in relations with its European partners and partners from a number of other countries.